okay, so i've upgraded the speakers, and the head unit in my 01. it's got an eclipse 4 channel amp, infinity references, and a pioneer 7800bt (bought it a year ago, still haven't found a better one in retail lol)

for a while now, the sound has been... acceptable. i want the bass to hit harder without distortion IE: Sub.

the questions are as follows. how would i wire a sub up to my amp without loosing a channel? i like having individual control over all 4 of my speakers...
the deck has a sub output on it, but the amp doesn't. am i going to need a separate amp for a sub?

next question is, where should i mount the thing? i don't want to loose too much passenger room, and the amp is mounted under the driver seat. it's an extended cab, not a double. people usually sit sideways when in back...

next, the truck came stock with 5x8s for all 4 speakers... i understand this was the thing after... 2000? is there any way to put 6.5's in there? i guess i'd need new door panels, and a change in the way they'd mount... the 5x8's don't hit as hard as my old rockford phosgates did in my 96 with the same amp.

and finally, are there any upgrades to the factory tweeters i can implement? IE speakers or tweeters made for that.

i know that's a lot of questions... but i figure y'all are the dudes to ask!

okay, so i've upgraded the speakers, and the head unit in my 01. it's got an eclipse 4 channel amp, infinity references, and a pioneer 7800bt (bought it a year ago, still haven't found a better one in retail lol)

for a while now, the sound has been... acceptable. i want the bass to hit harder without distortion IE: Sub.

the questions are as follows. how would i wire a sub up to my amp without loosing a channel? i like having individual control over all 4 of my speakers...
the deck has a sub output on it, but the amp doesn't. am i going to need a separate amp for a sub?

You can wire all 4 interior speakers to 2 channels (you will need to add an adjustable L-pad between them in order to fade front/rear) and then bridge the other 2 channels for the sub. The other choice as you mentioned is to add a dedicated subwoofer amplifier.

next question is, where should i mount the thing? i don't want to loose too much passenger room, and the amp is mounted under the driver seat. it's an extended cab, not a double. people usually sit sideways when in back...

There are all kinds of shallow mount subs these days with small airspace requirements however you'd have to decide how much bass you want and how much room you are willing to give up before that question could be answered.

next, the truck came stock with 5x8s for all 4 speakers... i understand this was the thing after... 2000? is there any way to put 6.5's in there? i guess i'd need new door panels, and a change in the way they'd mount... the 5x8's don't hit as hard as my old rockford phosgates did in my 96 with the same amp.

You can get 6.5's in there however as you mentioned you will need to do some serious surgery to either the inner door sheet metal, the door panel or both. In any case how the speakers are installed has a HUGE effect on how they will sound ie: you must have a SOLID baffle, the back wave needs to be sealed from the front wave, the acoustic polarity needs to be correct, proper gain setting on the amp, proper crossover point etc. BTW, what size/model of Rockford Fosgates did you previously have and were you using a subwoofer with them?

and finally, are there any upgrades to the factory tweeters i can implement? IE speakers or tweeters made for that.

All kinds of choices out there for sure! Are the 5x7's you have coaxials with tweeters? If so I personally would not add another set of tweeters as they can be detrimental to your sound (they can be made to work however it's not as simple as "plug n play"). BTW, are the factory tweeters still connected?
In my humble opinion, if you are truly looking to get "the most" from your system without having to cut your truck up my personal suggestion would be to use a set of 5x7/6x8 components in front or a set of 5 1/4" components with an adapter (not my personal choice but if you like Infinity they make a 5x7 component set with a separate tweeter)

i know that's a lot of questions... but i figure y'all are the dudes to ask!

okay, so i've upgraded the speakers, and the head unit in my 01. it's got an eclipse 4 channel amp, infinity references, and a pioneer 7800bt (bought it a year ago, still haven't found a better one in retail lol)

for a while now, the sound has been... acceptable. i want the bass to hit harder without distortion IE: Sub.

the questions are as follows. how would i wire a sub up to my amp without loosing a channel? i like having individual control over all 4 of my speakers...
the deck has a sub output on it, but the amp doesn't. am i going to need a separate amp for a sub?

You can wire all 4 interior speakers to 2 channels (you will need to add an adjustable L-pad between them in order to fade front/rear) and then bridge the other 2 channels for the sub. The other choice as you mentioned is to add a dedicated subwoofer amplifier.L-Pad? what kind of sound change is that going to make? or if i amped it, could you recommend a decent inexpensive dedicated sub amp? which is going to sound better?

next question is, where should i mount the thing? i don't want to loose too much passenger room, and the amp is mounted under the driver seat. it's an extended cab, not a double. people usually sit sideways when in back...

There are all kinds of shallow mount subs these days with small airspace requirements however you'd have to decide how much bass you want and how much room you are willing to give up before that question could be answered.

i could probably justify loosing maybe a forth of the back to a sub... gotta have room for atleast one person back there... if not for them, then an ice box for trips. i'd prolly put it behind my seat. As for sound... i'm not looking for that rumbling sound that you sometimes hear from over done systems.. when the drums hit, i'd like to feel it... without the distortion and rattle your bolts loose-ness.

next, the truck came stock with 5x8s for all 4 speakers... i understand this was the thing after... 2000? is there any way to put 6.5's in there? i guess i'd need new door panels, and a change in the way they'd mount... the 5x8's don't hit as hard as my old rockford phosgates did in my 96 with the same amp.

You can get 6.5's in there however as you mentioned you will need to do some serious surgery to either the inner door sheet metal, the door panel or both. In any case how the speakers are installed has a HUGE effect on how they will sound ie: you must have a SOLID baffle, the back wave needs to be sealed from the front wave, the acoustic polarity needs to be correct, proper gain setting on the amp, proper crossover point etc. BTW, what size/model of Rockford Fosgates did you previously have and were you using a subwoofer with them?

i had basically the same setup i have now... pioneer deck, eclipse 400 watt amp, and the speakers were rockford phosgate punches i think... i could turn those up and see my mirrors vibrate even at 70mph on the freeway. as for cutting up my doors... i'm not down for all that.. the stock speakers are screwed down to a plastic mount... i just figured that since the truck came with the SR5 package, that the 5x7s were part of the "upgrade" and that there were other options... like using the plastic mount off of a truck equipped with 6.5's and the door panels from the same year... i'm not exactly qualified to do all that work.

and finally, are there any upgrades to the factory tweeters i can implement? IE speakers or tweeters made for that.

All kinds of choices out there for sure! Are the 5x7's you have coaxials with tweeters? If so I personally would not add another set of tweeters as they can be detrimental to your sound (they can be made to work however it's not as simple as "plug n play"). BTW, are the factory tweeters still connected?
In my humble opinion, if you are truly looking to get "the most" from your system without having to cut your truck up my personal suggestion would be to use a set of 5x7/6x8 components in front or a set of 5 1/4" components with an adapter (not my personal choice but if you like Infinity they make a 5x7 component set with a separate tweeter)

i would have prefered a set of rockfords for my application... but they weren't available in my area. the infinities were the best i could get right away. YES my factory tweeters are plugged in, and yes, i think the infinities came with them too... the factory wiring is still in play.

L-Pad? what kind of sound change is that going to make? or if i amped it, could you recommend a decent inexpensive dedicated sub amp? which is going to sound better?

An L-Pad is a passive device that works like a "fader". I doubt you would hear a difference in either set-up with all else being equal however IMO adding the second amp would be easiest (amp choice would depend on the sub you choose)

i could probably justify loosing maybe a forth of the back to a sub... gotta have room for atleast one person back there... if not for them, then an ice box for trips. i'd prolly put it behind my seat. As for sound... i'm not looking for that rumbling sound that you sometimes hear from over done systems.. when the drums hit, i'd like to feel it... without the distortion and rattle your bolts loose-ness.

Lots of options for you and my suggestions from would depend on your budget.

i had basically the same setup i have now... pioneer deck, eclipse 400 watt amp, and the speakers were rockford phosgate punches i think... i could turn those up and see my mirrors vibrate even at 70mph on the freeway. as for cutting up my doors... i'm not down for all that.. the stock speakers are screwed down to a plastic mount... i just figured that since the truck came with the SR5 package, that the 5x7s were part of the "upgrade" and that there were other options... like using the plastic mount off of a truck equipped with 6.5's and the door panels from the same year... i'm not exactly qualified to do all that work.

They all came with 5x7's and unfortunately they didn't leave much room for upgrading.

i would have prefered a set of rockfords for my application... but they weren't available in my area. the infinities were the best i could get right away. YES my factory tweeters are plugged in, and yes, i think the infinities came with them too... the factory wiring is still in play.

That is a nice deck and amp however personally I am not a fan of the Infinity speakers. First thing I would do is disconnect the factory tweeters and see how it sounds. If you are satisfied with that sound I see no reason to change the speakers. If you still don't like the sound of the speakers my suggestion would be to change the front only to a set of 5x7 components or 5 1/4 components with the proper adapter. Once you decide on and add the sub I think you have the makings for a really nice sounding system as long as it is installed properly.

i bought the speakers on someone else's recommendations.. what would you suggest based on what i'm running? i'm totally open to suggestions!

And for a comparable sub/sub amp combination? i'm not rolling in the dough, but i do believe you get what you pay for.

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IMO a set of good components up front would be most beneficial if you are looking for really good sound. The drag with most of the "better" 5x7 components is that they may be too deep and are a bit pricey. My favorite "value" speaker that you will see me mention quite often around here is the Pioneer Premier PRS series. I can make an adapter for the TS-C520PRS 5 1/4" set and IMO it doesn't get better anywhere near the price (about $200.00 on eBay). As far as the sub I forgot to ask what model truck you have and how much room are you willing to give up? Also, what type of music do you mainly listen to and do you like your bass "boomy" or more "articulate"?

i listen to a lot of different things. any sub/speakers i'd implement would have to be versatile for that. Rock, Dance, Alternative

i have an 01 extracab, and i could prolly deal with loosing one seat. lil less if possible.

as for bass.. i like to feel the bass... but not all distorted. like, listen to Buckcherry - crazy bitch and listen for the drums. i want it to hit, not rumble... i don't need it to rattle my teeth loose. make sense?

i listen to a lot of different things. any sub/speakers i'd implement would have to be versatile for that. Rock, Dance, Alternative

i have an 01 extracab, and i could prolly deal with loosing one seat. lil less if possible.

as for bass.. i like to feel the bass... but not all distorted. like, listen to Buckcherry - crazy bitch and listen for the drums. i want it to hit, not rumble... i don't need it to rattle my teeth loose. make sense?

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You definitely sound like a candidate for a good sub in the proper sealed enclosure. If you let me know what your budget is I can offer you a few suggestions.

for a budget? i could prolly justify 4-500 bucks... maybe more if need be. i've never set up a system past what i have, so i have no idea what's reasonable. sounds like i need an amp, a box, and a sub. i saw a box in the 1st gen tab that really cought my eye. takes the place of my center console. otherwise, i'm looking at something behind the drivers seat.